


PhannieMay 2018

by Elletz



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Drabble Collection, Phanniemay, Phanniemay 2018, links to the prompts I drew on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-01 19:52:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14527956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elletz/pseuds/Elletz
Summary: A collection of writing for the Phanniemay 2018 prompts! I drew some of the prompts, so there isn't writing for all of them.





	1. Day 3: DNA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oddity

If Valerie Gray was anything, it was not stupid. So when Phantom’s ectoplasm started bubbling, she didn’t simply set it aside like all of her math homework. And of course, brought out her old science kit from when she was a kid. 

She had gotten a clear shot at him last night, and in the aftermath some of his ectoplasm splat onto her gun. No worries; she had dealt with plenty of ectoplasm before. After all, Phantom wasn’t the only ghost she went after. 

But it didn’t look… normal. 

Ghosts, by all means, were the opposite of normal. They were unnatural creatures- the leftover consciousnesses of the deceased, or an entirely new specimen made from the thick substance of death. That substance was soon named by scientists as ectoplasma, or ectoplasm, after its first discovery. A strange chemical that could do many strange things; it surprised everyone who gazed upon it. 

Phantom’s ectoplasm was an oddity to basic ectoplasm. That, in itself, said more than anything she had previously theorized. Even _Wes_ hadn’t thought of this possibility. 

The notes of her examination so far: it was dull, and it was bubbling. The diluted nature of it was very concerning, compared to the bright, neon green of most every ghost she had encountered. If Phantom’s eyes were glowing, then why wasn’t his ectoplasm? The bubbling she couldn’t even attempt to explain- she wasn’t exactly a trained scientist. 

Valerie scrunched up her nose. The sample didn’t smell bad, per say, but rather it looked closer to _blood_ than anything. What did that say about her, much less the ghost? Ectoplasm shouldn’t be compared to blood, period. That implied that they were two similar substances. Humans weren’t people anymore after they died. 

With a shake of the beaker, the ectoplasm sloshed much denser than it should. Setting her equipment down on the desk, Valerie stared blankly out her window. 

Should she have let her curiosity get the better of her? Would she have been better off not aware that Phantom wasn’t a regular ghost- at least one that she had never seen before? Her chest felt heavy, and she couldn’t help but feel like she was invading Phantom’s private life. Valerie Gray was never meant to find such an intimate discovery. 

Yes, Phantom’s ectoplasmic DNA was quite different than anything she had ever seen. But for now, despite not knowing exactly _why_ she felt such a worry for a ghost she despised, Valerie would keep it a secret.


	2. Day 4: Eclipse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He Loves (Space)

Tucker would never understand Danny’s love for space. Yes, it was memorizing looking up at thousands of stars when his family vacation was in the middle of nowhere and there was nothing better to do, but _still._ The universe wasn’t exactly in his favor.

Nor the rest of the city’s, when he really thought about it.

Last year, there had been an asteroid that almost hit the Earth straight on- if not for his friend’s quick thinking to turn their planet intangible long enough for the rock to pass. And four years ago, there had been a week in May where it hailed nonstop! To this day, no Amity resident is sure where all that ice came from, or if it had been a weather-controlling ghost. It was almost as if this time of year was specifically _made_ to be difficult.

So the question remains: What would go wrong this year?

Hopefully nothing, if they were lucky, but Danny had been talking nonstop about a solar eclipse coming up soon this month. Not even _Sam_ could get him to shut up for more than a few hours, and she could usually get him to do _anything._

“Hey, when is this eclipse thing happening again?” Danny paused in the middle of his rambling, turning to look at the other boy with wonder in his eyes and amazement in his grin. He wasn’t even mad. That was just how _excited_ he got about space.

“This Tuesday! Only four days away! It’s gonna be so cool!” Tucker silently wondered if this was the same look he got when talking about technology. If so, then bless his friends for putting up with him every time he updated a new feature of his PDA. Sam watched the two of them, amused at both Danny’s wild maunder, and his own contemplated expression.

Slowly, she slid herself off from Danny’s bed, her legs swinging off the edge. She stood up, hands on her hips, and faced them both. “Let’s watch it from the top of the hill. That’ll be the best view, and I already ordered the glasses.” Danny’s eyes lit up.

“You guys are watching it with me?” Sam lightly whacked the back of his head with her ring-less hand.

“Of course we are! Who knows when there’ll be another one.” She glanced over at Tucker. “Your folks gonna be okay with this?”

He chuckled, adjusting his beanie for the fifth time that day. “If not, then you guys will just sneak me out anyway.” All three friends laughed. They’ve been sneaking out past curfew for the past two years. Tucker recovered the quickest, simply watching the other two fondly.

“Man, I’m glad I met you guys.”

Sam smiled genuinely. “So am I. You losers are the best friends I’ve ever had.” Danny looked down, incredibly bashful.

“Now that my secret’s out, we aren’t really losers anymore,” they both snorted at that, “but yeah. You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for.”

“Aww, you love us.”

“Shut up, Tucker.”


	3. Day 6: World Building

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timelines

“So there are other versions of us?”    
  
The ghost slowly turned around from his numerous monitors at the curious words. “Precisely.” Clockwork gave the young teenager an unimpressed look, as if to emote how obvious the answer was. This went purposely unnoticed by Tucker.    
  
“Is there, like, a dimension where I’m rich?” From beside him, his friends snickered at his bluntness.   
  
Clockwork allowed a small smile, discreetly switching to the form of a child. “Of course.” The time ghost waved his staff in the direction of a nearby monitor. In it, the scene changed from last Tuesday’s English test to focusing on a boy dressed in black who looked nearly identical to Tucker. The three high schoolers gawked at the screen.    
  
“In this reality, Tucker Foley is a wealthy teenager who holds goth culture and technology dearly.”    
  
While Danny and Tucker seemed quite speechless at the description, the corner of Sam’s lips upturned into a smirk. “I knew I’d make you into a goth one of these days.” Tucker smacked a hand to his chest dramatically and fakely gasped. It was Danny’s wrist he had grabbed in his haste, and the other boy went falling on top of the other. Sam snorted, reaching out a hand for them to stand up with. Despite the offer of support, Danny dragged her down instead. Together, they laid against each other in a heap on the hard floor laughing.    
  
Clockwork shifted into a form of an old man, smiling gently down at the friends. After a moment of simply watching, he turned his back to them to continue gazing upon the many screens in his lair.   
  
Danny recovered suddenly from the giddy laughter, standing up abruptly from the floor. Startled, his friends sat shocked on either side of him. “Do you make them?” The time ghost glanced over his shoulder at the halfa.    
  
“Be more specific.”    
  
“Do you make all the timelines?”    
  
Smirking, Clockwork turned to the now standing high schoolers and shifted into his adult form. “Do you think I do?” This caught Danny off guard.    
  
“Uh… maybe? Do you?”    
  
Sam placed a firm hand on his shoulder, standing tall beside him and staring intently at Clockwork, who was staring back with a knowing expression and a quirked eyebrow. “He definitely does.”    
  
Tucker gulped. “How do you know for sure?”   
  
“That’s the same look my grandma gives me all the time. Trust me.”    
  
Clockwork, amused, gestured them back over to his wall of monitors depicting various realities of the three teenagers. Together, they watched the biggest and closest screens. One was of a Danny controlled by Nocturne, another was of a Sam sitting cross-legged in front of a summoning pentagram, and a third was of an older Tucker with dreadlocks controlling a mini-copter. Watching them was a different kind of memorizing, compared to the amazement any of the trio were used to.    
  
As far as they knew, Clockwork did make them all, including their own reality. Or perhaps it was the observants, or even God himself. But no matter how existential humanity’s questions became, the three friends knew one thing for sure: the timeline was filled with endless possibilities, and it always would be. 


	4. Day 7: Core

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Needs Some Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this turned out way longer than I expected

“You’re normally great at dodging that train!”   
  
Of course it was Tucker’s offhand comment that would be his downfall. Sighing, Danny pulled the blankets closer around himself. “I’m sick, dude.”   
  
The three friends were inside their respective homes playing  _Doomed_ , despite the sun’s rays shining through every window. Staying inside playing video games was an awful habit from the school year that they had carried over into the summer.   
  
“I still don’t even know how that’s possible.” Sam chimed in from her high-quality headset. “A cold in the middle of July?”  
  
“You’re right.” His own voice sounded off. “That isn’t normal.”   
  
Ever since The Accident, his friends had kept a close eye on him- and more specifically, his powers. He had phased through more than enough ceilings and floors this past freshman year. Plus, he  _apparently_ flat-out disappeared on them without realizing for a whole Monday. But other than the regular features that came with being a ghost, Danny never showed any signs of other powers.   
  
But he recently woke up with a cold one morning. Or at least, he _thought_ it was just a cold. But after two agonizing days of rest, he wasn't so sure of that anymore. So now Danny was a bit concerned for himself, as well as a little paranoid.   
  
But why should he bother to see a doctor about this? His readings would be all wrong, anyway. If his powers were acting up, then letting someone prod and poke at him is the last thing he needed.   
  
“Isn’t there, like, medication? Or anything your parents can do?” Tucker asked, concern seeping into his voice.  
  
“They don’t think it’s anything to worry about.” Despite this, Danny still felt like something was… different. He had never had a cold quite like this before.   
  
“What about Jazz?”   
  
“She noticed I had a cough, but otherwise she’s been busy tutoring.” He snickered, thinking of her frustration whenever Dash failed to solve a basic algebra problem for the third time.    
  
From down the road, a smile snuck up onto Tucker’s face in a moment of deviousness. “Hey, are you still grounded Sam?”   
  
She scoffed. “Yeah, but I can always sneak out. Why?”   
  
“Meet me at FentonWorks. Let’s figure this out, once and for all.” His voice crackled through his headsets, getting up from his chair suddenly.   
  
“Figure out what?” Danny defended. “It’s just a cold.”   
  
He heard the loud scraping of bushes, realizing that Sam had climbed out her window already. He also realized she uncharacteristically forgot to log off of the game in her haste. She must be actually worried.   
  
“Having a cold in summer is next to impossible.” She chided. “If your ice powers are acting up, then we need to do something about it.”   
  
“Okay, fine.” He sighed, relenting. “I’m sure the front door is unlocked.”   
  
Not five minutes after he logged off, he heard the opening of the front door. It was no surprise Sam was here already, and Tucker could be fast when he wanted to be. The techno-geek loudly proclaimed who was here (for Danny’s parents’ sake) as they raced up the stairs for his room.   
  
Sam kicked open his door without knocking, but Danny was only worried about how he couldn’t stop shivering at the small gust of wind.   
  
“What’s-” She cut herself off, eyes widening as she curled her arms around herself.   
  
_“Dude.”_ Tucker, leaning slightly into himself, appeared from behind her. “Why is it so cold it here?”   
  
Danny shrugged, pulling the sheets tighter around his shoulders and sneezing.   
  
“I turned on the heat, actually.”  
  
“I’m pretty sure it’s broken, then.” Tucker, amazed, poked a stray icicle that was hanging from the wall. He crossed the room, sitting down on the bed next to his chilly friend. He shot up standing as soon as he sat down.   
  
“Ow!” He glared down at the unassuming sheets. Sam stepped closer, examining the light blue colored spread, and blankly stating the obvious. “This is covered in ice.”   
  
Sure enough, there was a thin layer of ice on the sheets, as well as the rest of the bed, including the blankets her friend was trying to use for warmth. There were some jagged edges that Tucker had sat on. Sam sat down herself on the old toy chest, only to find a sheet of frost covering it too.   
  
“Why is…?” Some water dripped down onto her forehead. She hastily wiped it off and stared up at the melting icicles on the ceiling.   
  
_“Dude.”_ Tucker exclaimed, wiping off fog from the window and looking out at the desert outside.  
  
Danny huddled further into his frost-covered blankets. “It’s been like this since yesterday. I don’t have a clue what to do about it.”   
  
Sam turned on the heel of her boot, sitting down on the chest once more. She sat shivering at the cold, but was unrelenting and forced herself to withstand it. “Maybe you should talk to Frostbite about this.”   
  
Danny groaned from underneath the blankets. “He’s been busy with his kingdom.”   
  
Tucker cautiously sat down with them, brushing off some ice. “Man, if I ruled a kingdom…” He murmured this almost dreamily, but it went unnoticed besides a few confused glances from his friends. “So what are you gonna do about this?”   
  
“I’m just going to wait this out, guys.” Danny shivered, his breath escaping him in a constant blue mist. “It’s probably nothing.” Sam raised her eyebrow at him, standing up from the chest and folding her arms.   
  
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.” Her sarcasm and half-closed eyelids followed her into the hallway. The two boys curiously followed her out, only to find her knocking on Jazz’s door. The girl in question cracked open the door and peered out at the trio.   
  
“Do you three need help with anything?” She sounded like she could barely contain her excitement at her little brother and his friends needing her.  _Just great._  
  
“No-” Danny was interrupted by Sam punching his shoulder. “...Yes? I think?”   
  
“Do you think Danny’s emotions would affect his powers? I mean, you’re the psychology major here.” Jazz brightened at the goth’s words.   
  
She fully opened her door, inviting them to sit on her bed. “Absolutely. In fact, I’m surprised that Danny’s survived this long with his powers intact.”   
  
Her brother raised a defying eyebrow. “Hey, I resent that-” But for the second time within the past five minutes, he was interrupted- by  _Tucker,_ no less.   
  
“Actually, I’ve been noticing that.” The three other teenagers stared at him blankly.   
  
_“What.”_  
  
Tucker raised his hands to his shoulders. “Is it such a surprise that I noticed something? Every time Danny fights mad he absolutely  _demolishes_ whoever’s on the other end. I only realized that when I saw him fight happy, like, four weeks ago.”   
  
“That… explains so much.” Danny playfully glared back at Sam, before nonchalantly crawling underneath his sister’s bed covers.   
  
Meanwhile, Jazz looked like she had just been given an award for Student of the Year. In fact, that was her exact same face when she really _did_ receive that award during the CAT exams.   
  
Tucker coughed awkwardly, turning to the redhead. “So, um, Danny’s bedroom?”   
  
“What’s wrong with my little brother’s bedroom?” Danny cleared his throat from underneath the blankets. It was muffled, and no one paid attention to it.   
  
“It’s,” Sam stared down at the human-shaped lump on the other side of the bed, “ice.”   
  
Jazz blinked twice, confused. “Ice?”   
  
“See for yourself.” Danny grunted at her words.  
  
It was only after the three other people in the room left that he hesitantly slid out from under the covers. He saw that his older sister was standing dumbfoundedly in his doorway, while his two best friends were shivering on his bed, chattering away their teeth trying to explain that they found it like that.   
  
And that somehow, she had not noticed the house’s temperature drop.   
  
“Danny, who’s Frostbite?” He scratched the back of his neck.   
  
“Frostbite is the ruler of the Far Frozen in the Ghost Zone. He’s the one that, uh, helped me with my ice core when Undergrowth took over the town.”   
  
“That plant ghost from the summer?” He nodded.   
  
Sam cleared her throat. “Ice core?”   
  
Danny chuckled. “Oh yeah, I never told you guys. Every ghost has a core that ties to their obsession.”   
  
“So why is your ice core acting up?” He sighed, raising his shoulders in a helpless manner.   
  
“I don’t know. I’ve tried contacting Frostbite, but there’s some festival going on soon with his people, and he’s been busy with that.” He glanced at Jazz, now behind him, who was pondering a solution and leaning against the doorframe.   
  
“If your ghost core is tied to your emotions, then we should try at least fixing whatever is going on in your head. Have you been having any problems, Danny? Besides your grades this past school year, of course.”   
  
The halfa scoffed, glaring at her with neon tinged eyes. “When you put it that way, you make it seem like I have some mental problem. Which I don’t,  _by the way.”_  
  
“You’re having anger issues, then?”   
  
_“No,_ Jazz.”   
  
“Sorry, sorry.” She waved her hands in a ‘calm down’ gesture, grinning at how easy it was to upset him. “But is there seriously something going on? Anything bothering you?”   
  
Danny had to bite his tongue, forcing himself not to simply retort back with  _‘you.’_ (Otherwise, they’d never solve anything, and he was freezing. Thankfully, he took his sister’s non-ice-covered blankets from her room before he left her bed.) But when he really thought about it, he had been getting irritated at the influx of ghost attacks.   
  
Since it was summer, he could leave the house to fight them whenever he wanted. But that past school year had been a bit… too much. Eventually, his teachers would stop buying the bathroom excuse, and the anxiety that came with that thought was tough to deal with. All he could hope was that he got completely new teachers next year.  
  
He heavily sighed, despite what felt like dry ice in his lungs. “I guess I’m a little stressed right now. Just _how_ many ghosts have showed up within the past week?”   
  
“Too many, dude. We said we could split up the week between us, but you just laughed it off.” Tucker sounded a little hurt, actually, and Danny immediately regretted ignoring his suggestion.  
  
“I just don’t want you guys to get hurt.”   
  
Sam crossed her arms, impatient with his excuse. “We can handle the ghost for a few days, you know.” She scoffed. “You don’t need to play hero 24/7, Danny.”  
  
Just as he was about to protest, Jazz placed her hands on his shoulders, looking directly at him with a fond expression. “Little brother, even heroes need to take breaks once and awhile.” Ashamed, he looked down, but she just lifted his chin up again. “Sam, Tucker and I can take over for the next few days. We’ll do shifts! Don’t overwork yourself, okay?”   
  
Still feeling rotten, Danny hesitantly nodded. But this change would only last a few days, all to help calm his core. After this, he would be right back to caffeine and sleepless nights. Back to bruises and cuts. Back to being a superhero, but not truly feeling like one. 

But he wasn’t about to tell them that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw his friends and sister are NOT gonna let stop taking most of his shifts  
> danno is gonna learn that three people in his life are not letting him suffer anymore


	5. Day 11: Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lost

Sam had pulled off of the highway onto an obscure road that none of them recognized, and  _ then _ continued onto a series of offbeat roads that anyone with a sense of direction would tremble at. Personally, Tucker had no problem admitting that he felt a bit frustrated. 

She was the first one among their trio to obtain her driver’s license. (Not very surprising, considering how his parents didn’t trust him yet with their car, and Danny still had nightmares about his dad’s driving from his family vacation five years ago.) But Sam had always had a tendency to rush into last-minute ideas, no matter the consequence. On the road, she would turn into other lanes for no reason, and take random exits to avoid traffic. So the fact that she would do something like this wasn’t a very far off guess. 

But still. 

“C’mon, where’s your adventure Tuck?” He watched her tease him with a blank expression, his eyes darting back and forth between her defiant smile and the stalks of wheat outside the window. He knew she didn’t actually care that she was leading them to the middle of nowhere. He also knew that they could call for pickup if they got stranded, which was only somewhat comforting. 

Danny, the peacemaker, laid a gentle hand on both of their shoulders from the back seat. “At least this is a fun experience, right?” Tucker sighed. 

“Sure,” he relented, “but  _ you’re _ the one explaining to my parents why I’m sneaking back into my house at 2 am.” The other boy quickly nodded, but Tucker knew that he was secretly thinking of just overshadowing them instead. 

“Hey, how big do you think this field is?” 

Tucker stared out his window at the wheat field that seemed to go for miles alongside the torn up country road. “Why don’t you fly up and find out?” Sam snorted, taking her eyes off the road for a moment. 

And that was when she swerved into the field to avoid hitting a squirrel. 

All three teens were screaming and jumping as the car bumped haphazardly over the rocky terrain. Both Sam and Tucker tried desperately to take back control of the steering wheel, but it was all in vain. Without thinking, Danny quickly grabbed onto his friends’ arms and turned them all intangible just before the car crashed into a line of trees at the edge of a forest. They fell clumsily into a patch of dirt, crushing many wheat stalks in their path. 

For some time they simply laid together, helplessly staring up at the bright stars in the sky while sucking in the cold night air. Sometimes, Tucker understood Danny’s love for the stars. The feeling of looking up into a cloudless night sky filled with twinkles of light that made one question both their existence and humanity as a whole was otherworldly. 

Suddenly Sam started cackling, successfully breaking the silence. Her friends confusedly turned their heads to watch her madness. 

Danny cracked a grin. “What’s so funny?”

Her arms came up to wipe happy tears from the her eyes. She shook her head from side to side, still lying on her back. Her hair flailed out from her head with wheat grains tangled in the black strands. 

“Seriously, what?” 

She finally lifted her upper body into a sitting position, her legs still spread wide in front of her. Her hands planted in the earth in front of her. She was still shaking with laughter, as if the situation was hilarious. 

It really didn’t matter what she was laughing about, Tucker supposed. What mattered was that she wasn’t the only one. He started cracking up, encouraging Danny to join them as well. 

So as it was, they ended up laughing away hours in the middle of nowhere and appreciating the starry night sky for hours. When they finally left (by Danny flying them back to Amity Park, because Sam’s new car was utterly destroyed), they made a pact to come back to the same field in a month. 

Around this time next month would be a full moon. Danny would certainly get a kick out of that. 


	6. Day 17: Royalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a King

“Are you really going to let a 15 year old rule?” 

“Clockwork,” an observant strayed from the assembly, floating briskly over to the time ghost with an amused demeanor. “Of all people, I would think  _ you  _ would be one to support the boy’s ruling. After all, you’ve taken quite a liking to him.” 

The taller of the two shifted from his grandfatherly form to his adult. “I don’t mean to say that I  _ wouldn’t  _ support Daniel, but is it truly wise to let a high schooler rule the land? While this might result in a better timeline as opposed to a timeline with no ruler, the boy will struggle with balancing both his human and ghost identities.” 

Observants, no matter how they display themselves personality-wise, will always put the timeline first and foremost. That being said, they would not feel even the slightest bit remorseful for dumping an entire dimension on an adolescent who already has too much to worry about. Honestly, Clockwork wasn’t surprised when the observant he was talking to simply nodded and headed back to their station without another word of rebuttal. In fact, it hadn’t even been a likely possibility that one would answer his question at all. 

He supposed young Daniel would have to just “deal with it,” as many high schoolers nowadays said. There were already numerous responsibilities on both his human and ghost halves to preserve, but hopefully the boy would find some joy in leading. After all, Clockwork himself lead the observants (or at least tried to) while watching the progress of every timeline and reality in existence. 

And so, within the next week young Daniel was brought to the tower with no knowledge of what to expect, other than the letter the time ghost left for him on his dresser that asked him to attend a meeting. 

Of course with Daniel Fenton would always come Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley. The three friends went together in most nearby timeline occurrences, so Clockwork made sure to save three seats in the front pew. 

“Hey Clockwork! We’re here!” There really was no need for the halfa to shout; Clockwork was floating next to his monitors, which wasn’t far from the open doors. 

“Ah, so you are.” His red eyes swept over the three of them. “I believe the observants have some interesting news for you, Daniel.” 

The boy in question nervously stepped behind his friends, who both spared him anxious glances. Tucker cleared his throat, speaking instead. “This isn’t about, uh, Dan, is it?” 

“I’m afraid this may be worse than Dark Dan.” The ghost sighed, looking towards the dented thermos across the tower floor. “Although he has been acting rather odd lately.” Danny gulped, his eyes following the other’s line of sight. 

“So what… is this about?” 

Clockwork pinched the bridge of his nose, his hood shifting forward as he floated towards a lower placed monitor. He directed it upwards to the humans’ eye level with his staff, showing them a screen of the tiring fight between Daniel and the former king. “Since you defeated Pariah Dark, the observants have deemed it entirely appropriate to crown Daniel king of the ghost zone.” 

All three teens froze for a moment, their jaws slack. What could one even respond with to a statement such as that? Being king was an honor, usually, but not for a child, and most certainly not for one who is at a rivalry with most every ghost he has encountered. 

“M-me? King?” Danny held his finger pointing at his core. “But what about all the ghosts that hate me? I can’t be king!” 

Sam snapped out of her trance, shoving a hand down on Danny’s shoulder. “Yes he can!” She corrected, grinning down at her bewildered friend. Tucker looked back up at the screen in awe. 

“How  _ cool  _ would it be to rule a kingdom? You could finally show up all your enemies, Danny!”

“I…” The shorter boy paused, looking down at the tower floor. At a loss of words, he loosely fiddled with the white split-ends of his hair, before giving up and turning human to tug at the bottom of his shirt. “I’m not fit to be a king.” 

Clockwork faintly smiled at the bashful teenager. “I know.” 

“If Danny doesn’t want to be king, then can he pass the job off to someone else?” The two human boys perked up at Sam’s suggestion, then anxiously turned to the time ghost for his response. 

The ghost lightly chuckled. “That’s why I invited you three here today. Hopefully, you can convince the observants to choose another ruler of this reality. They refuse to listen to anyone but the possible timelines.” Clockwork smiled somewhat darkly. “But if Daniel denies the position, then they cannot force him to accept it.” 

“Since Danny doesn’t wanna be king, can I be the king?” Sam laughed and shoved the joking techno-geek away. Danny snorted loudly at Tucker’s expense, holding out a hand to help him up from where he fell on the floor. 

“Clockwork, do not tell me you are influencing the boy’s decision.” The three teenagers immediately startled at the new voice that floated into the room. 

“And what does that matter?” The time ghost slowly turned towards the observant that rudely interrupted. “It is ultimately Daniel’s decision whether or not to allow persuasion.” 

The observant heavily sighed, their large eyeball rolling around as if a human child. “It is time for the meeting.” They gestured to the young boy, ignoring his friends, to follow them. Irritated, Sam burned a hole through the back of their head with her glare. 

Suddenly stopping, the observant turned to Danny and looked him up and down, unimpressed. “You should transform into your ghostly form.” After he did, no one said a word as they four dutifully followed the observant. 

When they finally reached the large assembly room, it was filled to the brim with hundreds of observants, all staring down at them as they entered the doors. Taking a shaky breath, Danny nervously glanced up at Clockwork, who was failing at hiding a smirk. He didn’t feel as confident. 

They were then guided to the front row of clothed pews. Since when did leather survive in the ghost zone? 

“Daniel Fenton, a half-human half-ghost, and conqueror of past ruler Pariah Dark, is the rightful heir to the throne. Of the possible timelines discovered, a new successor of Phantom is the sixth most likely occurrence, and the one of the more desirable, as compared to a future timeline of human extinction, and a future timeline of chaos among ghost kind.” 

Clockwork slightly slid down in his seat, hoping to help ease the nerves of the three teenagers. “They only know that because they keep sneaking into my tower at night and sifting through timelines.” The first chuckle came from Sam, who clamped a hand over her mouth as soon as she did so. Some observants sitting nearby bristled at her rude behavior. 

Danny, while smiling at the ghost’s snark, was perplexed. Would someone bring up his human realm crimes? His thousand year sentence of Walker’s prison? He knew could prove he was innocent, but how many would believe him? Absorbed in his own thoughts, he failed to realize that the room had gone completely silent. 

Sam nudged his arm with her elbow. He looked up to find that every eye was focused him, a boy who was fiddling his thumbs together and sweating immensely. He gulped, standing up on his shaking legs. They were waiting for an answer to a question he hadn’t heard. He supposed he only had one answer, anyway. 

“I don’t- I can’t accept the position. Sorry.” 

There were appalled murmurs throughout the congregation. Danny looked down at his friends, who were smiling proudly at him (although Tucker looked a bit upset at the fact that he wasn’t suggested as a replacement ruler). Clockwork, however, had such an unreadable expression that Danny started to question if he had truly made the right decision. 

The single observant on the stage tapped their microphone twice to call order and attention. “Daniel Fenton has denied himself as the rightful ruler to the Ghost Zone. A case like this has only happened once before, in which a ghost has chosen another to lead.” The ghost paused, coughing away from the speaker into their fist. “That, of course, was before our knowledge of the timelines. Now, we must resort to a further possibility.” In the audience, three teenagers leaned forward in their pew. 

An observant from across the wide room floated up from those around them. They cleared their throat quickly. “The ninth most possibility seems adequate.” Another observant three rows down from the first stood up in disagreement. 

“The ninth most possibility will soon crumble into a disaster! I say we should use the thirteenth most.” 

“The  _ thirteenth most probable?!  _ That would be the unluckiest of them all!” 

Clockwork, having predicted the outcome of an argument, was already guiding himself and the three teenagers out of the room. Let the observants fight, while he figures out a solution himself, but the humans would not need to see it happen. 

In the hallway, Sam crossed her arms. “So what will happen to the Ghost Zone? Who’s gonna lead, if not Danny?” 

“Well, Samantha, we shall wait and see.” The time master chuckled. “Personally, I believe the second most possible occurrence would be an excellent choice, no matter how unwilling the observants see it fit.”

Tucker blinked. “What’s the second possibility?” A knowing glint appeared in Clockwork’s eye. 

“Oh, you mustn’t worry over that. Just do not be alarmed if any ghosts start to appear… unusual.” 

Danny peered up at the time ghost. “What do you mean by that?” 

Clockwork simply smirked at the question. 


	7. Day 24: AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Full Ghost AU

Life was lonely for Danny Fenton. That being said, being a ghost wasn’t as terrible as his parents made it out to be. 

After his death, there was a period in which he didn’t know what to do with himself. In the beginning he would simply haunt the house, frightening his sister over flying eggs benedict and exciting his parents by powering up the Ghost Gabber multiple times. Even after the loss of their son, the couple still didn’t quit making inventions- although they seemed more serious about ghost hunting now. Jazz had tried consoling them; tried reasoning with them about how unhealthy pushing themselves into their work was, but she too was grieving. 

Danny didn’t quite understand their mourning until his father walked right through him. 

That solidified his death too much for him to handle, forcing him out of FentonWorks entirely. He couldn’t stand to be anywhere in the house other than the basement anymore. 

Of course, the next logical place to go was the school. He hadn’t properly seen his friends for three days, after all. 

It had felt odd entering the Casper High doors that afternoon (or more like phasing through). It was already seventh period according to the clock in the office, and Danny knew that both of his friends were in study hall. He would have been too, if not for the whole “electrocution” thing. 

When he got to the biology classroom (which functioned as the study hall room seventh and ninth period), he first spotted Sam, who was absentmindedly rolling her pencil on the desk in front of her. He understood why she wasn’t doing any work, and why Tucker wasn’t either. They had killed their best friend. 

(Well, maybe  _ kill _ was a strong word to use, but it hadn’t been  _ entirely  _ his fault.) 

At least Sam had always been into the supernatural, ever since she turned goth in seventh grade.  _ Surely  _ she wouldn’t mind if things got a little… spooky. He knew that Tucker, who was currently reading his english textbook with the amount of enthusiasm one would expect from someone asked to clean a toilet, would absolutely freak out at seeing his dead best friend. Honestly, Danny would do the same thing. 

Lucky that he was on the opposite side of the spectrum. 

Admittedly, he spent about five minutes thinking on how to approach this. If he could coax his friends to come out of the classroom, then he could have some fun. But how on Earth could he manage that? 

He noticed that the teacher was tired. In fact, she was quite literally falling asleep on her desk. After a long day of teaching, she probably wouldn’t move for even a fire drill. He flew invisibly towards her. 

Something Danny had learnt within the past few days was that he could overshadow people. On the second day as a ghost he accidentally walked into his father’s large frame and was suddenly controlling a body that wasn’t his. An odd power, sure, but it would certainly come in handy today. 

Jumping into the woman was the easy part. Forcing Sam and Tucker to go into the hallway because their teacher wanted to talk privately with them? Still the easy part. Confronting them as a ghost? A tad more difficult. 

He should’ve planned what he was going to say. They were leaning against the lockers, staring terrified at the opposite wall as if it were crumbling before their eyes. He was honestly proud of them for not immediately screaming when he became visible. 

“Hey guys! Guess what? I’m a ghost!” Danny wiggled his fingers in front of him, making a stereotypical ghost noise. His friends’ wide eyes darted back and forth between him and their human companion, checking to see that they weren’t delusional for seeing their dead friend. 

Hesitantly Tucker spoke, his voice quivering and small. “Dan...ny?” The ghost nodded. 

Sam sucked in a shaky breath. “How are you still… alive?” Danny subconsciously touched his chest, feeling the cold pulse of what might have been his heart once. 

“I’m… not.” 

There was a long beat of silence. 

“Ghosts don’t exist.” The goth softly whispered. 

Tucker, not lifting his eyes from staring at shoes, gently nudged her pale arm. “Sam, we were both there. We  _ saw  _ him die.” The boy lifted his head to look Danny in the eye. “Danny’s a ghost.” 

Danny chuckled weakly. “I saw you guys at the funeral. First time I’ve ever seen Sam cry.” He watched the way Sam’s bottom lip trembled. His core wrenched with guilt. “I’m sorry, guys.” His voice cracked pathetically on the word ‘sorry.’ 

Sam, while afraid to touch him as a ghost, took a step forward. She sniffled, allowing Tucker to press against her shoulder and hold her hand for comfort. “It’s not your fault, Danny. It’s mine.” She whispered the last two words, as it pained her immensely to admit her fault. 

“It’s not anyone’s fault.” Tucker attempted to stand ground, but even he was tearing up. He took a deep breath, staring directly into the ghost’s eyes. 

“Can we… touch you?” 

Danny nodded, visibly shaking but smiling. He saw their faces light up. His friends both launched at him only to grab at thin air. He paused. 

Was he intangible right now? 

He looked down at himself, finding that he was, and that he had probably been translucent since that morning. “Ah, sorry.” He immediately went tangible, the murky green color flooding his skin. 

Not even the fact that he now looked like an alien stopped the two of them. Sam clutched his top frame, hugging him tightly enough to choke a living person. Wrapped around her was Tucker, who had latched himself onto his friends with a death grip. Danny clung to them with all of his might (which thankfully, newly born ghosts didn’t have a lot of). 

It was such an emotional moment that none of them heard the bell until it rang right in their ears. For Danny’s newly-acquired sensitive hearing, it was ten times worse. Without thinking, the ghost turned his trio intangible and flew outside the school to get away. He finally set them down when Sam accidently kicked him trying to escape his arms. 

“What the hell Danny. What the hell was that.” The goth pointedly stared him down, making him feel incredibly guilty for his negative reaction. He scratched the back of his neck. 

“I don’t know, guys. I just panicked.” 

Suddenly Tucker laughed, making them look to him. “Now we  _ have  _ to skip the last two periods.” 

“Weren’t we gonna do that anyway?” Sam placed her hand on her hip, smirking. 

Danny sighed happily, walking forward and wrapping a hand around both of his friends’ shoulders to hug them. They hugged him back without hesitation. 

“I’m really glad I came back.” 


	8. Day 26: Imprisoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is short I know
> 
> for an au of mine where ectoplasm is straight-up deadly to humans

Sometimes it felt like his own lungs were suffocating him. Ghosts can’t breathe, so why could he? In the midst of battle, where the air was stifling with stray ectoplasm, he still fought- even when he knew he couldn’t hold air for  _ this long, _ and how every time the green mist was forced into his lungs he would choke. 

Sam and Tucker understood. At times, they couldn’t breathe either. It was a blessing they had stuck around for so long. 

Why did he always continue to risk it? Fighting ghosts who he couldn’t breathe around was torture, especially when they threw you into a wall so hard it knocked the air out of your lungs, and you had to desperately flee from the creature just long enough to breathe. In some battles, he couldn’t escape. When Pariah Dark invaded Amity, he knew the town wouldn’t die trying. It would die  _ breathing. _

There were a few incidents with the Ghost Zone and the Spectra Speeder. His parents had built the vehicle for research, and it was so airtight that no ectoplasm could make its way in, even if surrounded by the stuff. That didn’t apply when a ghost- more specifically, Phantom- was inside, and secreting ectoplasmic mist was inevitably a ghost’s nature, whether on purpose or not. 

There was a reason why he never hung around humans as a ghost; they would only suffocate on the ectoplasm. Perhaps that was why he continued to fight. Ghosts didn’t care if a human died because of them, because dead people don’t care about the living. 

But he was both living and dead. Danny Fenton was a human who inhaled ectoplasm and choked, and Danny Phantom was a ghost who choked on his own ectoplasm. He felt imprisoned within his own body most days. 

He didn't know what to make of that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't make it all the way through ughhhhh

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/173531879097/phanniemay-day-1-electricity-torrent-of-terror  
> Day 2: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/173524989412/phanniemay-day-2-green  
> Day 5: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/173649191712/phanniemay-day-5-ten-years-later  
> Day 8: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/173800283632/day-8-clones  
> Day 9: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/173848442437/day-9-power-surge-fentonworks-lost-power-but  
> Day 12: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/173930781292/day-12-callback-fashion-jazz  
> Day 13: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/173975936057/day-13-swap-a-while-ago-diddly-darn-ghost-made-a  
> Day 19: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/174050131077/day-19-phandom-honestly-when-i-think-of-the  
> Day 23: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/174197871897/day-23-wardrobe-summers-approaching  
> Day 25: https://elletz.tumblr.com/post/174251781847/day-25-cold


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